Bhubaneswar, Feb. 24: Police today busted a criminal gang and arrested three goons.

Among those arrested is one who had escaped from police custody while he was being produced in a Cuttack court in 2011.

The police have also seized a pistol and two rounds of live ammunition from them.

The arrested goons are Sanjay Jena, 32, Susant Mallick, 34, both residents of Niali in Cuttack and Dhananjay Panda, 25, a resident of Bikrampur in Angul district.

Acting on a tip-off, the police raided a house in Nayapalli, where the three were planning a robbery in the area.

The police said the three were involved in number of loot and robbery cases in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.

In August 2011, Jena was the one who had escaped from police custody. He had been arrested in a robbery case.

“Both Jena and Mallick have charges of murder in Niali. The gang is involved in a series of loot and robbery cases in Bhubaneswar and the rural areas of Cuttack,” said police commissioner R.P. Sharma.

Gambling arrests

Police arrested six persons, including five government employees, for gambling during office hours near Power House Square.

All the five are fourth-class employees working in various offices at heads of department building, commonly known as Nataala. The cops have seized Rs 42,435 from them.

The arrested persons have been identified as Ramesh Chandra Mohanty, Dasarath Kumar Barik, Manoj Kumar Lenka, Ambika Prasad Das, Kabiraj Jena and Jagabandhu Rout.

While the Capital police station officials are mum on the incident, sources said they were engaged in gambling near Nirnam Soudha, a government building, in the area. The quick-action team of the police raided the place and arrested them.